Interaction of tailored light with atoms and nano-structures

By adapting a mode of the light field to a system under study, the interaction of light with matter can be optimized. In this context, the spatial distribution of the electric field of such a tailored mode plays an important role. At the MPI for the Science of Light, this approach is utilized to couple light to individual atoms or nano-particles. It was shown, for example, that light can be coupled to an ion trapped in a parabolic mirror with high efficiency. In other studies, the scattering behavior of individual nano-particles was controlled using polarization tailored light.